SAT Scores to Get into The Top 25

College Search & Selection
1

<p>The following are US News & World Report's
Top 25 Universities/Top 25 Liberal Arts College's
SAT/ACT range.</p>

<p>Please use this guide as an indicator of your chances
of being admitted into these respective institutions.
To research more about college's SAT/ACT range,
go to the US News website at: <a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Top 25 Universities
Rank School Name SAT/ACT Range<br>
1. Harvard University (MA) 1400-1580<br>
1. Princeton University (NJ) 1370-1560
3. Yale University (CT) 1400-1560
4. University of Pennsylvania 1330-1500
5. Duke University (NC) 1330-1530
5. Stanford University (CA) 1370-1550
7. California Institute of Technology 1450-1570
7. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 1410-1560
9. Columbia University (NY) 1330-1540
9. Dartmouth College (NH) 1360-1550
11. Washington University in St. Louis 1350-1520
12. Northwestern University (IL) 1320-1500
13. Cornell University (NY) 1290-1490
13. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 1300-1490
15. Brown University (RI) 1310-1520
15. University of Chicago 1330-1530
17. Rice University (TX) 1330-1540
18. University of Notre Dame (IN) 1280-1470
18. Vanderbilt University (TN) 1270-1440
20. Emory University (GA) 1300-1460
20. University of California – Berkeley* 1200-1450
22. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 1290-1480
23. Georgetown University (DC) 1280-1470
23. University of Virginia* 1230-1430
25. Univ. of California – Los Angeles* 1180-1410
25. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor* 26-30 </p>

<p>Top 25 Liberal Arts Colleges
Rank School Name SAT/ACT Range
1. Williams College (MA) 1330-1520
2. Amherst College (MA) 1360-1550
3. Swarthmore College (PA) 1350-1530
4. Wellesley College (MA) 1280-1460
5. Carleton College (MN) 1300-1480
6. Bowdoin College (ME) 1290-1460
6. Pomona College (CA) 1370-1530
8. Haverford College (PA) 1280-1460
8. Middlebury College (VT) 1380-1500
10. Claremont McKenna College (CA) 1310-1490
10. Davidson College (NC) 1270-1440
12. Wesleyan University (CT) 1310-1490
13. Vassar College (NY) 1310-1460
14. Washington and Lee University (VA) 1310-1450
15. Colgate University (NY) 1270-1430
15. Grinnell College (IA) 1290-1490
15. Hamilton College (NY) 1260-1420
18. Harvey Mudd College (CA) 1380-1560
19. Smith College (MA) 1160-1370
20. Colby College (ME) 1280-1430
21. Bates College (ME) 1270-1420
21. Bryn Mawr College (PA) 1220-1410
23. Mount Holyoke College (MA) 1190-1380
23. Oberlin College (OH) 1250-1440
25. Macalester College (MN) 1260-1450
25. Trinity College (CT) 1210-1400</p>

2

<p>Remember: those near or below the 25% figure are very "hooked" applicants: athletes, URMs, Legacies, Developments, or similar. </p>

<p>For a normal kid, you need to be much closer to the 75% score than the 25% score IMHO.</p>

3

<p>Isn't the SAT based on a scale of 2400? So wouldn't so scores be low? Or do they disregard the writing section?</p>

4

<p>These are figures based on the "old" SAT-- this year's HS seniors are the first graduating class for whom the SAT is on a 2400 scale, not a 1600 scale.</p>

5

<p>2200+..........</p>

6

<p>According to the revealed preference study:</p>

<p>For Princeton, chances are highest at the 93 percentile score and the 99-100 percentile scores. So the person with an SAT at 94 percentile had a LOWER chance than a person at 93 percentile.</p>

<p>For Harvard, chances go up until the 92nd percentile. From there to the 98th percentile, chances remain constant and does not increase until the 99th percentile. </p>

<p>For MIT, chances go up as SAT go up for all ranges.</p>

7

<p>^This is mostly by chance.</p>

8

<p>seems a bit consistent for chance. maybe the universities (excluding MIT) tend to not care once you get 93 or 94 percentile.</p>

9

<p>This is by no means a rule of any kind. Just because someone has a perfect score doesn't mean that they'll automatically be offered admission. SAT scores in the grand scheme of things aren't that important. The admissions officers want to get to know you as a person, not a number. Those mid-range scores are just the numbers that most of the attending students happen to have.</p>

10

<p>notes:</p>

<ul>
<li>SAT ranges within a University depends on what program you apply to. i.e Penn's average SAT score varies alot by if you apply for business or the general college. And so on.</li>
<li>The bottom 25% reflects URMs and athletes; the athletes thing is a factor in distorting SAT scores at places like Stanford, Duke, Penn, and other schools that recruit heavily, but not much of a factor in distorting the SAT ranges at places like Chicago, MIT, and CMU</li>
<li>The top state schools have much higher standards for Out of State students.</li>
</ul>

11

<p>
[quote]
The top state schools have much higher standards for Out of State students.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is not necessarily true. At the University of Virginia, the admissions director stressed that last year that SAT averages of in-staters were actually a little higher than those of out-of-staters. He also made a BIG deal out of how little they consider the SAT. He said something like, "At a school with 13,000 students, I have no qualms about taking an interesting, intelligent, motivated student with a 1000. I have no qualms about taking 2,000 of them." It was clear that at UVa, essays, teacher recs, and other indicators of character are a HUGE factor.</p>

<p>He also told us an interesting story that went something like this. A few years back, a girl who was CLEARLY a math genius applied. She had an 800 on every math SAT, from the SAT I, to the Math 2C, to Physics. She had As in all her math classes. However, her teacher wrote a very discouraging rec, saying that the girl was an arrogant brat who constantly talked down to her peers and teachers, and who had no friends because she aliented everyone she spoke to with her holier-than-thou attitude. Her essays confirmed her arrogance and overbearing pride in herself and disdain for others. She was promptly rejected.</p>

<p>One last thing. A family friend of ours had a daughter who was very intelligent but didn't test well. Despite a high GPA, she got a 900 on her SATs. (!) Her dream was to attend Georgetown. She applied early, called the admissions directors, and made it VERY clear that she wanted to attend Georgetown more than anything else in the world. The admissions director personally interviewed her, and she explained her inability to test well. The director encouraged to try again and get over a 1000. She did, and got a 1050. She was admitted and matriculated there this fall.</p>

<p>Just some things to consider.</p>

12

<p>there are always exceptions</p>

<p>there are arrogant people at every top college, and if someone was a math genius they probably wouldn't have gone to UVA from out of state anyways</p>

13

<p>what about ACT scores?</p>

14

<p>Keep in mind those results are for the class of 2008. The class of 2009 was supposedly even more selective than 2008.</p>

15

<p>vinco: <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2002/pdf/ten.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/cbsenior/yr2002/pdf/ten.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

16

<p>thethoughtprocess: please do not immediately assume that the lower 25% are URM's and athletes. My son is a URM whose SAT scores are at the higher end of the range for most of the schools he is considering. I know of several athletes whose SAT scores are at the higher range as well. Even though my son has high grades and is in the top 6% of the nation for his SAT scores, if he gets into a selective school, there will be some of his classmates that will think that he only got in because he is a URM. I notice that you didn't mention legacy students, or students whose families make a large donation to the school. It is possible that some legacy and/ or big contributers fall in the under 25% range. Still, there will be some that are at the higher range. Since neither you nor I know which students comprise the bottom 25%, or why they were selected, perhaps it is best not to generalize. I know that you were just speaking generally, and that was not the focus of your post, but I just thought I would mention it.</p>

17

<p>what is a URM?</p>

18

<p>Underepresented Minority</p>

19

<p>chammom, URM's do have lower average SAT scores, and athletes DEFINETELY have lower average SAT scores</p>

<p>Alumni children are a big factor too, as well as just being wealthy</p>

<p>of course, you are fair in pointing out that it is the "average" that is lower</p>

20

<p>Does anyone have the top ten USNEWS selectivity ranks for both categories?</p>